Aquaria: The Lost Fleet

XI: Dinesh

"We'll need to make one more stop and get fuel if we are going to finish up this trip", Crue said, at the helm. "I'm picking up a boat clan, well at least hopefully it's a boat clan, about six clicks to the north. We'll need to buy some fuel."

"Take us in", Paul agreed.

"It'll be about a half hour", Crue said. "Let's be prepared."

Jasmyne came up to the deck, having just woke up. She watched as the boat clan came into view. The boat clan was massive, being made up of hundreds of yachts, fishing boats, and wooden pallets. It was a small town built onto the water. The boats were all connected by thin wooden bridges in a grid that spanned over a mile.

As the recon ship got closer, children playing and people chatting came into view. The populace was filled with smiles and laughter. The people were all darker skinned with thick hair. Many of them had their hair styled into dreadlocks. Floating gardens were spread throughout the boats. Vegetation was everywhere, with many of the clanners having small trees and shrubbery decorated throughout the boats.

"Wow", Jasmyne said, as Paul walked up behind her. "It's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it."

"It's the largest boat clan I've ever seen", Paul said. "It seems very organized too."

"It must have a name, doesn't it?", Jasmyne asked.

"I'm not sure", Paul replied. "I've never been this far east. It's like a whole other way of life. I haven't seen anything like it either."

As their recon boat docked alongside one of the clanner's boats, Paul went downstairs into the cabin. He came back with burlap tarps.

"Put these on", Paul told them. "We don't know if any of Graham's men are here also." Everyone put on the tarps and tried their best to conceal their faces.

A rasta looking man approached their recon ship. He was of medium height and medium build. He wore a green and red poncho. He had a pair of rimmed black glasses on and a joint behind his ear. He was not armed. "Hello", he said with a jamaican accent. "Welcome to Dinesh, led by Chief Raleigh. My name is Jacob."

Paul waved at him. "I'm Paul. We are here to buy fuel, we'll be on our way soon. This is my crew" Paul tossed a rope over to Jacob and Jacob tied their recon ship to his fishing boat. Jasmyne and Gerry waved while Crue focused on docking the boat. "A boat clan with a name?", Paul asked.

"Yes, we take great pride in not being ship born", he said as he finished his knot. "We come from all walks of life, and this is our home." Jacob looked at Paul's face and noticed the bags under his eyes. "You look tired friend. Please, come on onto Dinesh. Meet the people, we are always glad to meet others."

"We don't have time, unfortunately", Paul replied groggily. "Thank you though."

"I want to see Dinesh!", Gerry cheered. "C'mon Paul it's amazing! Can't we stay a while?"

"We really shouldn't", Paul said regretfully. "We need to stay one step ahead."

"Oh c'mon Paul", Jasmyne said, smiling at Gerry. "This place is amazing, let's just take a look around. It looks like they have fresh fruit, can't we look around for a little while?"

Paul smiled at her then looked to Crue. Crue said, "We would need to refuel and load everything up anyway. I wouldn't mind getting a souvenir for Lisa also. Nobody is going to believe this place when we tell them, we may never see anything like it again."

Paul sighed. Bruce emerged from the cabin onto the deck. "Let's stick around for a bit Paul", Bruce said. "I'll keep a lookout for anything."

Paul nodded. "Alright then Bruce, if you say so." He turned to Gerry and Jasmyne. "Let's check out Dinesh. But only for an hour, alright? We can try to stop by on the return trip."